University researches and academics do not typically move this quickly: the cadence of their work is usually dictated by the need for detailed analysis, papers and conference presentations. But when an ACT research team led by Andrew Blakers and Matthew Stocks this month announced the result of research about the shift to renewables and its impact on emissions, they were quick to respond. Blakers and Stocks’ research came to two conclusions that are important to the current debate about the energy transition: mainly that shifting to 100 per cent renewables is technically feasible, and at the current rates of deployment, enough wind and solar could be built by 2032, just 13 years away. They were not particularly controversial observations, but given the constant push back by conservatives, ideologues and fossil fuel promoters that a 100% renewables is impossible, and repeated assertions that wind and solar can never be built quick enough, they were important points to make. What upset their colleagues, and which provoked such a rapid response in social and mainstream media, was the claim that this transition was largely achievable if the government “got out of the way” and could actually deliver the country’s Paris commitment for economy-wide emissions reduction targets 5 years early.
Renew Economy 19th Feb 2019 read more »
